SCENE THE
Spring Issue 4
April 29, 2022
THESCENEFP.COM
Anniversary milestones See pages 2-3
Summer vacation plans See page 4
St. Louis Community College at Forest Park
STLCC marks 60th anniversary
By Cristian Romero The Scene staff St. Louis Community College turned 60 years old in April, prompting Chancellor Jeff Pittman to hold forums on all its campuses. About 10 students and 30 employees showed up for the Forest Park forum on April 20 in the Mildred E. Bastian Center for the Performing Arts. It was also livestreamed, allowing people to watch from homes or offices. Pittman discussed everything from the college’s founding to the recent passage of Proposition R. Voters approved a property tax increase to allow a $350 million bond issue for upgrades and modernization. “Our main goal will always be to create a diverse learning environment for people to succeed and graduate with little to no debt at all,” Pittman said. STLCC’s roots go back to 1962, when voters approved creation of the Junior College District of St. Louis-St. Louis County. It included three campuses: Forest Park, Meramec and Florissant Valley. A fourth campus, Wildwood, opened in 2007. The district was designed to provide an alternative to four-year institutions for students who wanted to continue their educations past high school and earn associate degrees or get vocational training. In the beginning, nearly 800 students attended college-level classes at McCluer High School in Florissant and Roosevelt High School in St. Louis at night. Early career programs included nursing, data processing, culinary arts and automotive technology. In 1964, 67 students graduated in the district’s first class. The following year, voters approved a $47.2 million bond issue to construct campuses.
Photo by Deborah Moss
STLCC Chancellor Jeff Pittman holds a forum April 20 in the Mildred E. Bastian Center for the Performing Arts at Forest Park. The district’s first chancellor, Joseph Cosand, is shown on the PowerPoint display. “Before the (Forest Park) campus was built, there used to be an amusement park on the site,” said Monica Holland, library manager. The amusement park was called Forest Park Highlands. It burned down on July 9, 1963, leading the college to buy the land for $1.8 million. Students and employees submitted 15 potential names for the campus, ranging from Louis IX Community College to Lewis and Clark Community College.
Forest Park welcomed its first students in 1967, but campus construction continued until 1970. The architecture was considered very innovative at the time. Building shapes and window placements for A, B,C and D Towers were patterned off a computer card, which was modern technology at the time. STLCC tuition cost $17 per credit hour in 1975, compared to $116.50 today. Pittman used his speeches this month to update students and employees on his dis-
trictwide plan for spending tax revenue generated by the Proposition R rate increase. He calls it “STLCC Transformed.” Pittman noted that the plan, which includes demolitions and renovations, won’t be implemented all at once. There are priority projects for the next three to five years, as well as long-term projects. Pittman will hold more forums the week of May 2 related to STLCC Transformed. Students and employees also will receive surveys to fill out.
Ted Drewes and therapy dogs help with studying
By Deborah Moss, Nicole DeLapp and Theodore Geigle The Scene staff Forest Park hosted its own version of an international program called Long Night Against Procrastination this month to help students prepare for final exams. Students studied for 25-minute intervals with breaks in between for snacks and activities such as exercise, crafts, tutoring and games. About 50 students participated in the program from 5 to 10 p.m. April 20 in the library. “That’s the number I was shooting for, so I was pleased with the turnout,” said Kim Hallemann, manager of Academic Success and Tutoring. Hallemann organized the program with Campus Life and library staff. Organizers set up 10 activity stations. One of the most popular was stress relief with therapy dogs. Students petted and played with the five dogs, which wore vests and other accesso-
ries. They also fed them treats. “That really brought people in,” Hallemann said. Another activity, Bal-A-Vis-X, was a form of calisthenics that involved throwing balls in sync with other people in a group to socialize and exercise the body and mind. Writing Center Supervisor Amanda Gallogly led a mini-workshop on the Pomodoro Study Technique. Each student got a free timer to be used for future studying. Snacks ranged from sandwiches and veggie trays to Ted Drewes ice cream. The Long Night Against Procrastination program started at writing centers in Germany. It had been tried on other St. Louis Community College campuses in recent years, but this was the first time at Forest Park. Organizers considered the program so successful that they’re planning to bring it back next fall and spring. “I want to see more in-person activities to connect students,” Hallemann said.
Photo by Markell Tompkins
College Bound adviser Claire Rone, left, and funeral services student Annie Kullmann pet a therapy dog named Amber as part of the Long Night Against Procrastination.
Forest Park
1962 • Voters approve
ST. LOUIS COMM
th ~ 60 Ann
creation of Junior College District of St. Louis-St. Louis County.
1963 • Board of trustees
approves names of Meramec Community College and Florissant Valley Community College.
1965 • Voters approve $47.5
million bond issue for construction costs, the United States’ largest community college bond issue.
1967 • Classes begin at Forest Park Community College.
1970 • Forest Park campus completed.
1971 • Florissant Valley campus completed; administrative center
The Forest Park campus opene photos show people and scener from left: Classroom buildings learning CPR; the college distric Cosand. Middle row, from left: event; comedian and activist Dic professor teaching class in a su The rollercoaster at Forest Park park that formerly occupied the and cap; Pakistani students pos
opens on Wilson Avenue.
1972 • Meramec campus completed.
1973 • College offers first
televised course, Western Civilization; Florissant Valley’s Child Development Center program starts.
1974 • More than 2,000
veterans are enrolled at Florissant Valley, the highest number in Missouri.
1976 • Names changed to
St. Louis Community College at Meramec, Florissant Valley and Forest Park.
1979 • Institute for Continuing Education established; course offered at 50 locations.
1981 • College offers courses on Higher Education Channel, PBS and People’s Choice Television, as well as on-site training with local industries.
1982 • New administrative center dedicated on Wilson Avenue.
Florissant Valley
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The Scene
THESCENEFP.COM
April 29, 2022
MUNITY COLLEGE
niversary ~
Meramec
1984 • Clarkson Education
Center begins operating in rented West County space.
1987 • Center for Business,
Industry and Labor established; Clarkson renamed West County Education Center.
1989 • Joseph P. Cosand
Community College Center opens in downtown St. Louis.
1994 • Northside Education
Center opens in the old Julia Davis library branch.
1999 • Jack E. Miller Hospitality Studies Center opens at Forest Park with modern equipment for culinary arts.
2001 • South County Education
ed in 1967. These archive ry in the early days. Top row, under construction; students ct’s first president, Joseph P. : People at an informational ck Gregory speaking out; a uit. Bottom row, from left: k Highlands, an amusement land; dental student in uniform sing on the treeless grounds.
Center breaks ground.
2007 • Wildwood campus dedicated.
2010 • William J. Harrison Center opens in JeffVanderLou neighborhood as Forest Park outreach facility.
2011 • College consolidates
athletics into districtwide teams to help with budget problems.
2018 • St. Louis Community
College vacates and sells the Cosand Center in downtown St. Louis.
2019 • The new Center for
Nursing and Health Sciences opens on the Forest Park campus.
2020 • All campuses close due to the COVID-19 pandemic, offering remote classes until in-person learning returns gradually.
2021 • Voters pass Proposition
R, a property tax rate increase that was the first for the district in nearly 40 years. It will allow a $350 million bond issue for upgrades and improvements.
Wildwood
April 29, 2022
The Scene
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Page 3
Campus chatter Michael Starkey, 19, business “I’m just going to be taking some extra courses and looking for a part-time job.”
Jacqueline Weeke, 25, life science lab assistant “I have to take an Anatomy 2 class, and I’m going to try to go to Yosemite National Park in California.”
Matthew Amann, 20, general transfer “Around May 17, me and 10 friends are going to Colorado to go skiing and hiking. And then during June, I’m going to go to Las Vegas ’cause it’s my 21st. We’re going to go barhopping and go to the casinos.”
Chloe Kessler, 18, marketing “At the end of May, I’m going to Europe. We’re going to Germany, France and then Amsterdam. I’m just going with my parents and my siblings.”
Page 4
Lillian Befeler, 18, general transfer “I’m still figuring it out, but in terms of vacationing, I’m probably going to visit family and go camping in the West.”
Alexandrine Murebwayire, 20, general transfer “I plan on finding a job and probably taking classes.”
What are your plans for the Summer?
By Markell Tompkins
Annie Kullmann, 21, funeral service “I am going out of town. I’m going to South Carolina to see my grandparents on Hilton Head Island, and then I’m coming back, and I’m going to be starting the summer semester, getting some credits out of the way.”
John Lowrie, 17, general transfer “I’m not planning on doing any summer schooling programs. I was just going to continue an internship that I’m participating in. I work in the IT field. … I guess I might possibly get a job so I can make a little money.”
Amber Pettibone, 21, respiratory therapy “I’ll be taking summer classes on campus, and I’m going to the lake.”
Halley Hunt, 21, liberal arts “I’m going on a trip to Japan, most likely. It’s probably going to be in Tokyo. There’s a convention for a show that I watch. It’s a big thing because it’s like the 10-year anniversary or something. I’ll probably visit Kyoto, too, for the history of it.”
Jessica DeCuir, art adjunct “I’m going to be working on my house, home repairs, and doing some caregiving for my elderly mom, and if I’m lucky traveling. But I’ll probably be staying close to home.”
Jada Caffey, 25, general transfer “I am going to be taking a summer class, hopefully. That’s the plan. … I might be going on a vacation. Nothing’s set in stone yet.”
Layout by Nicole DeLapp
The Scene
THESCENEFP.COM
April 29, 2022